


Easy is Relative

by Guardian_of_Hope



Series: Search, Rescue, & Retrieval, the Clones Era [4]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, Finding Family, Gen, alternative universe, retrieval mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-09-23 10:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9651725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_of_Hope/pseuds/Guardian_of_Hope
Summary: Kara Saje and the 425th get a retrieval mission to an abandoned Jedi enclave on a world on the Outer Rim.  Their objective is to get in, find Jedi relics, and secure them for return to Coruscant. There's a reason there are so many battle quotes about the lasting nature of plans.





	1. New Mission

“General Saje.”

Kara blinked several times, rising out of her meditation slowly.

“General Saje.”

She was on another cruiser, some mission.

_“General Saje.”_

The war, the _Retrieval,_ Kara shook her head slightly as she slid off her bunk and hit the comm button, “General Saje here.”

“General, communication from Coruscant.  You’re requested to the comm center,” one of the comm officers said.

“I’m on my way,” Kara said.  She grabbed her robe and slid it on, running her hands over her shirt for a moment before she shoved her feet into her loose, leather slippers and headed for the bridge.

They’d transferred General Secura and her men to the _Valiant_ yesterday, and Kara had barely begun sorting through her troopers’ records.  She’d already confirmed the existence of Knight Squadron, the ten men who would follow her no matter the mission.  She’d also confirmed Lieutenant Screech’s Home Squad, which would always be in charge of their base camp or landing zone.  Other than that, Captain Zip hadn’t pointed out any other squads in need of formal recognition, but they both agreed that they would work on it.

Of course, if the Council was sending them on another mission, they’d probably figure out something they needed and hadn’t thought of before.

Kara shook her head slightly as she entered the comm station, nodding to the Lieutenant as he scuttled backwards with a salute.

“I’ll just be outside,” the young Twi’lek stuttered before fleeing.

Kara glanced over her shoulder, wondering if she really looked that terrifying, and then turned back to call up the communication.  In moments, she had a three-foot-high Master Windu staring at her from the holo platform.

“Master Windu,” Kara said with a bow.

“General Saje,” Windu said pointedly.  “We have a new mission for you.”

“Sir, may I remind you that I don’t even have a full company as of yet,” Kara said pointedly.

“We’re making arrangements to get you more troops General,” Windu said, “but for now, this is a retrieval.  We’re sending you to the planet Alsaiir.  It’s currently located in Republic space, but there are indications that it won’t be for long.  On Alsaiir is a Jedi outpost that was abandoned in the war, within it are several important relics.  We need you to retrieve those relics before the planet falls into Separatist hands and return them to Coruscant.  I’m sending the data you’ll need.”

Kara bowed, “Of course, but sir, if the threat of the planet to falling to Separatist hands is so clear, shouldn’t someone with more troopers be dispatched?”

“We don’t have anyone else we can send right now,” Master Windu replied with a scowl.  Then he closed his eyes for a moment, “If you do run into trouble, we’ll do what we can, General Saje, but I wouldn’t depend on help arriving in time.”

“Yes sir,” Kara said, “I understand.”  She rested her hand on the panel below the projector, “Is there anything I should know about Alsaiir?”

“It’s a temperate world, not much different from Alderraan and Naboo.  We’ve used it as an outpost for Jedi in need of a retreat away from Coruscant for a while now, but with the war on, it’s not possible anymore.”  Windu said calmly.

“So we won’t need that bad weather gear that got lost in transit,” Kara said, “that’s good to know.”  She nodded slightly, “I sent the report in about the gear, apparently it’s not the first time my people have had their gear lost or had faulty gear shipped out.”

Windu sighed, “It seems to be an ongoing trouble.  I’ll leave you to deal with your mission, General Saje.”

“Yes, General Windu,” Kara said.

“Oh, and General Saje,” Windu said.

“Yes, General Windu?”  Kara asked.

“If you’re going to adjust the size of the hologram, I recommend you keep your eyes steady.”

“Yes Master,” Kara said, bowing.  When she straightened, the transmission had ended.

For a moment, Kara allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of glee and mischief, then she clenched her hands, cleared her face and stepped back out of the room.  Finding the Lieutenant waiting, she smiled, “I’m expecting a databurst from Coruscant.  When it comes in, please route it to my datapad.”

“Yes sir,” the Lieutenant said with a salute.

Kara nodded and walked away, reminding herself, again, to ask Captain Sei’lar about that military protocol instruction.  Then she remembered her datapad was in her room and set off quickly, cursing herself for a fool.  Thankfully her pad was sitting on the “desk”, a somewhat dubious flat surface that folded down from the wall that she didn’t trust to hold more than the two datapads she depended on.

Given that the data hadn’t arrived yet, Kara felt justified in ducking into the ‘fresher for a sonic shower before dressing in her armor yet again.  As she pulled on the silvery grey under suit, Kara felt grateful that her father’s gift had included several of the suits, even if there was only one set of armor.  Once dressed, Kara collected her datapads and headed to the conference room that she frequently borrowed.  By the time she’d collected a cup of caff and settled down, the data she’d been waiting for had arrived and she was ready to immerse herself in the details of their new mission.

It was two hours later before she went up to the bridge to find Captain Sei’lar.

“Captain Sei’lar,” Kara said, “may I have a word?”

“Of course, General,” Sei’lar said.

Kara followed him to the back of the bridge, “I have new orders from Coruscant, a retrieval mission.”

Captain Sei’lar nodded slightly, “As you know, my orders are to provide you with all the assistance I can.”

Kara nodded, “We are being sent to Alsaiir, to retrieve important Jedi relics before the planet falls into Separatist hands.  Their intel says that Alsaiir is currently Republican aligned, but with the way the war is going.”

“That can change at any moment,” Sei’lar said with a slight nod, “I will put us on course to Alsaiir immediately.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Kara said.  “I’ll be making use of one of the conference rooms for a while.”

The Captain smiled slightly, “General, consider the room yours for the duration.  Certainly, you get more use out of it than my people have lately.”

Kara bowed, “Thank you, Captain.”  She turned and headed back to the conference room, pulling out her comm unit as she went.

“Captain Zip.”

Kara smiled a little, “Captain, please come to the conference room near my quarters.  We have a new mission.”

“Yes General,” Captain Zip replied.

Kara thought for a minute about General Secura’s wrist comm and wished she’d been issued one, but that request, like all the rest, was languishing on the supply lines that rarely carried what was ordered.  Her fingers twitched and Kara sighed, picking up her speed in hopes of being able to get to the conference room before Zip did.

Finding the room empty, Kara dragged her datapad over, summoning her stylus with the Force as she pulled up the drawing program.  She took a deep breath and began to draw.

“Sir?”

Kara didn’t look up, “Door’s open, means come in, Zip.  Have a seat, we’ve got a mission.”

“Yes, sir,” Zip said.

Kara nudged the datapad over with the mission parameters.  “Take a look, tell me what you think.”

“Are you okay?”  Zip asked as he sat down.

“Just, force stuff,” Kara waved her hand slightly, unwilling to take her eyes off the scene she was sketching.  Gloved hands were holding blasters pointed at a figure who was lying prone on the ground.  She thought it was a Twi’lek, but they weren’t the only species that had lekku.  The face of the person, and the full body of her shooters weren’t in frame, but under the one visible hand was a broken light saber.  Kara flipped the scene and began to sketch again.

“This is a Republic held planet,” Zip said.

“But they’re concerned it’ll be overrun,” Kara said.  “And that information may not be as up-to-date as we’d like.”

“But it’s just a retrieval, find the relics and get out, right?”  Zip asked.

“Nothing’s ever just a retrieval,” Kara said as she finished the octagon shape that dominated her new drawing.  “But on this one, I want to do something specific.”

“What’s that?”  Zip asked.

“I want you to stay on the _Retrieval_ with half the company.  I’ll take Knight, Home, and one other down.”  Kara said.

“But, why?  Sir.”  Zip protested half standing.

Kara looked up at him, “I want you here, so that when shit goes wrong, you can come rescue us.  If you’re down there, you’ll already be in the middle of it.  We aren’t going to have back up for this, so we’ll have to make our own.”

“I don’t like this,” Zip said, carefully sitting down, “We’re supposed to protect _you.”_

Kara took another look at her Captain, “That’s what Knight Squad is for, Captain.  I promise, they’ll be with me every step of the way.  I need you where you can do the most good too, up here to lead the rescue mission.”  She glanced back at her pad, studying it for a moment with a frown.

“I’m not comfortable with this,” Zip said softly.

“I’m sorry,” Kara said, “but I need this from you.”

“Did you see it, in your drawings?”  Zip asked.

“No,” Kara said.  Carefully, she ran her stylus through the middle of the octagon, sketching out a sinuous figure that made her gut clench with dread.  “This isn’t today, or this month, maybe not this year.  I don’t… this isn’t about the mission.”  She leaned into the Force, hoping for more clarity as to why she was being shown images that were so far away.  All she got was a feeling of waiting peace, a certainty that what needed to be seen would be when it’s time came.

Zip sighed, “If you’re only taking three squads, how do you plan to deploy?”

Kara smiled, “I want Home Squad with the ship, naturally.  This isn’t meant to be longer than a day, so we won’t set camp.  Knight will be with me, of course.  We’ll be going into the enclave to retrieve the relics.  Third squad will be at the entrance to the enclave.  They’ll keep an eye out for trouble and cover our rear.  If something happens, they’ll hold the door from cover so we can decide the best way forward.  Depending on what’s going on, we’ll fallback to the gun ship, or Home Squad will come to us.  This may be an enclave, but it’s very defensible.”

“Have you been there?”  Zip asked.

“No, but Master Windu was telling me that it’s located in a box canyon.  It has two additional exits, but one of them is a near vertical rock climb and the other is a cave system that is practically a labyrinth to the uninitiated.  There’s a lot of very good shielding in place there, from when the enclave was home to a very rich and very paranoid crime lord.  The Jedi helped deal with him after he assassinated a Chancellor about three hundred years ago, and we were able to claim the enclave for Jedi use afterwards.”

“I see,” Zip said.

“There’s a couple of maps in there,” Kara said, “not the labyrinth itself, but there’s a secondary landing port if we need it.  You need someone inside the shields to open it though, which is why we won’t be using it.”

“But if there’s trouble, we can come straight to you,” Zip said as he tapped the datapad.

“Exactly,” Kara said as she swiped to a clean page and put the stylus down to look Zip full in the face.  “I understand you’re not happy that I’m asking you to stay.  I’m sorry, but the ground action if there’s trouble is limited.  The rescue operation is what’s going to be important.  I have to go into the enclave, it’s been sealed, only a Jedi can get in without ripping the place apart, so I need you here, to handle getting us home.  Knight Squad are my protection, they watch my back and assist me in achieving the mission objective.  You are my partner.  I need to be able to trust you to do what needs doing so that I can do my job.  That may man that we’re fighting different battles, and it may mean that we’re side by side through the whole thing, but I need to know that when I ask for a distraction, you can give it to me.  I need Chip, and Fallback, and Sergeant Blaze for when I have to toss someone up a cliff face or handle a speeder bike because I got the defective one.  Can you work with that?”

Zip took a deep breath and nodded, “I can sir.”

“Thank you,” Kara said with a slight smile.  “If nothing else, consider it time to work out how to fill in our command structure.  Master Windu said we’d have replacements, and I want them to have a place before they get here.”

“I’ll consider it,” Zip said, standing up, “if that’s all?”

“Yes,” Kara said, then realized that wasn’t what she was supposed to say, “um, dismissed.  Have the squadrons who are leaving begin preparations.  Have Lieutenant Swoop get a gunship read?”

“Yes sir,” Zip said and saluted her.

Kara smiled a little, feeling his confidence in her increase a little as he started to leave.  It was one thing to be given command, but Kara knew she’d have to win over her troopers on her own.  A sudden thought occurred.

“Captain,” she said, looking up.

“Yes sir?”  Zip asked, turning back to look at her.

“Keep track of which squad comes with me today.  Next time I need another squad, make sure it’s a different one.  Knight Squad may be exclusive, but I don’t want to foster resentment and favoritism among the other squads as well.”

“Yes sir,” Zip said.

Kara waited until he left, then triggered the door.  The room became nearly silent, with only the faint hum of the engines to fill the air.  She looked around the room, taking in the two-toned grey on white walls, grey metal floor, and darker grey table.  The chairs were white, and while they could swivel and move back and for a bit, they were fastened firmly to the floor.  All in all, it was a depressingly plain room.

Kara’s eye fell on the printer situated by the terminal in the corner that doubled as the inner-ship comm system and she smiled.  She had started drawing because that was how the Force showed her visions, but that wasn’t the only reason the drew.  She took her datapad and moved over to the terminal to see about adding some color to her conference room.


	2. Briefing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara briefs her men on the mission and makes connections.

Kara summoned Lieutenant Screech and the sergeants of the landing party when the first ‘imminent arrival’ warning went off.  She’d already gone over her plans with Captain Sei’lar to make sure that his role in things was settled, and then dropped by her quarters to check her pack.  This time, she stuck a spare commlink in the bag before she closed it.  Forgetting the commlink the first time could possibly be forgotten with enough effort, forgetting it a second time would mean that someone was always going to ask about it.  Kara had learned that one the hard way as a youngling, she still had clanmates who asked her if she had her stylus when they saw her.  To be fair, that had been an unprecedented and memorable breakdown for a six-year-old Kara.

Pack checked over, Kara went back to the conference room that she’d designated as ‘hers’, checked to make sure that the landscape painting she’d attached to the wall with magnets was straight, poured a cup of caff, and then settled down in one of the chairs.  No sooner had she’d gotten herself settled with cup and datapads than the troopers arrived.  Knight Squad’s Sergeant Bright arrived first, with Lieutenant Screech steps behind him.

“Lieutenant, Sergeant,” Kara said with a warm smile, “have a seat, are you ready for another mission?”

“As ready as I can be,” Lieutenant Screech said as they sat down, “any word on that resupply sir?”

“Nothing yet,” Kara said, “I mentioned it to General Windu when we spoke.”  She taped her stylus on the table.  “I’m half tempted to take time after this mission to track down our supplies.  I imagine it would be faster than waiting.”

There was a tentative knock on the door, and Kara glanced up to find two troopers at the door.

“Yes, she said calmly.

The two troopers saluted, “Sergeant Hook and Sergeant Foggy reporting as ordered General.”

Kara stood and returned the salute, then offered her hand, “Sergeants, come in, have a seat.  This briefing is to familiarize all of you with our primary objective and basic contingencies.”

Kara shook their hands and settled back in her chair, closing the door as she studied the two sergeants.  The only difference in this pair was that the one who had spoken previously had a crooked nose, legacy of a broken nose no doubt.

“Sergeant Foggy,” Kara said, “I understand you are with Home Squadron?”

“Yes sir,”” the second Sergeant said as he jerked upwards, almost to attention in his chair.

“And Sergeant Hook would be our NCO for our third squadron in today’s mission.”

“Bucket Squadron, sir,” Hook said firmly.

“Bucket Squadron,” Kara said with a slight nod.  “I’ll remember that.”  She glanced at her datapad, then at the four men. “Our mission objective today is to retrieve Jedi relics from an enclave on Alsaiir.  While currently a Republic world, there is concern that Alsaiir will be conquered by the Separatists soon, and these valuable relics will be in danger.”  Again, she tapped her stylus as she collected her thoughts, “Our plan at the moment is this.  There is a landing pad about half a klick from the enclave that is used for arrivals and supply runs when the enclave is staffed and in use.  We’ll land there.  Home Squad will secure the pad while Bucket Squadron and Knight Squadron will advance to the enclave with me.  Bucket Squadron will secure and hold the entrance to the enclave while Knight Squad will proceed with me to the Vault.  Once there, we will secure the relics, then rejoin with Bucket Squadron and return to the landing pad for departure.”  Kara glanced up to study her men for a moment, “Any questions?”

There was a moment of silence before Lieutenant Screech half-raised his hand.

“Yes, Lieutenant?”  Kara asked.

“Where will Captain Zip be?”

“Captain Zip will be on board the _Retrieval._   Should we run into difficulties, or the Separatists attack, he will be in charge of getting us all back to the _Retrieval.”_

“What if the Separatists do attack, sir?”  Blaze asked.

“If possible, we’ll return to the ship and leave,” Kara said.  “If we cannot, the enclave was originally built by a crime syndicate as the private residence of their leader.  It is palatial and restful, but it was also designed for a siege.  If we cannot leave, we will seal the enclave and hold out.”

She tapped her stylus again, letting the rhythmic sound settle her thoughts for a moment, “The enclave has a secondary hanger that is well hidden, but someone has to be inside the enclave to lower the protections.  If it comes to it, a ship can get to it.”  When no one reacted to her words, Kara sighed gave them a wry smile, “If it helps, there have been no warnings in the Force.  As Sergeant Blaze can attest, I have some talent in that direction.”

She saw Blaze relax slightly with a nod, “That does help sir.”  He glanced down for a moment then back at her, “What kind of security can we expect, sir?”

“For the enclave, it’s top of the line, but no real surprises.  The syndicate put in top security when it was built and the Jedi invested in keeping it that way.  I’m not in possession of all the details of the Vault however.  I know that it requires a Jedi to get past the security however.”

“What?  Hook blurted out, then ducked his head as everyone looked at him.

“The vault plans are classified,” Kara said.  “No one would transmit those plans anywhere.  Furthermore, my Master once said to me that the Separatists have had at least 10 years to prepare, it would be blind arrogance to assume our uncoded communications have been left alone.”

“Why ten years, sir?” Lieutenant Screech asked.

“Because Master Honso believed that the war was supposed to have begun on Naboo.  Senator Amidala, she was Queen then, wasn’t supposed to have the kind of backbone she showed back then.  Master Honso told me that the common opinion in the Senate before that was that the Naboo had elected another young idealist to the throne, and at fourteen, Queen Amidala was young for the position she found herself in.  Then to, nobody expected Master Jinn to find a pilot like Skywalker by chance then either.  Personally, I don’t think the kriffing Sith realized how talented General Kenobi was with a ‘saber, even back then.  There were too many surprises for the Separatists to account for and it set them back.”  She tipped her head down and head down and then looked back up, “This opinion is considered rather controversial among the Jedi however.  It would be a kindness to me if you would keep that inside the company for now.”

“Trouble?”  Blaze asked.  Kara imagined she could _see_ his protective instincts come alert with the word.

Kara shrugged, “Not really.  Mostly it’s shouting or shunning with these things.  I just don’t want to get a reputation for controversy and rebellion before I’ve decided that’s the reputation I want.  People are already going to label me as not a conservative because Master Honso never was.”  She stood up, bringing the other four to their feet, “If there are no other questions, then consider yourself dismissed.”

“Actually sir,” Lieutenant Screech said, “what is the climate like on Alsaiir?”

“Temperate,” Kara said, “it’s late spring there, so warm with a possibility of rain, according to the report.”

“Thank you, sir,” Lieutenant Screech said and headed for the door, where Sergeant Blaze was hesitating.

“Yes Sergeant?”  Kara asked as she settled back into her chair.

“I’m glad that it took another ten years for the war started.”  Blaze said, “Because then we got to meet you.”  He gave her a saucy salute and left.

Kara shook her head as she pulled her other pad in front of her and pulled up the drawing program.  She should have enough time to get out whatever the Force wanted her to see before she got ready to leave.

Just as she finished drawing, someone rapped sharply on the wall by the open door.  “General Saje, sir?”

Kara signed and dated the image and sat back, “Enter, Lieutenant Swoop.”

Swoop nodded and stepped inside, trailed by a nervous looking trooper in the same pilot armor Swoop wore.  Where Swoop wore Lieutenant blue on his arms and torso, this trooper only had three brown dots in a triangle formation to the left of his life support gear.

“Captain Zip suggested I introduce you to your pilot today,” Swoop said carefully, resting his hand on the back of his companion.  “This is Jumper.”

Kara stood up and carefully returned Jumper’s salute.  “Pleased to meet you Jumper.  You’ve been briefed already?”

“Yes sir,” Jumper said.

“Good,” Kara said, “the only thing I have to add is that if it comes to it and we have to fall back to the enclave, _you fall back with us._   We can replace a ship easy.  Might not be the same exactly, and you’ll have to make adjustments, but a ship can be replaced.  _You cannot be replaced._   Understood?”

“Understood sir,” Jumper said with a quick salute.

Kara nodded slightly, “When we’re on the ground, you’ll get your instructions from Lieutenant Screech, his people will be securing and holding the landing pad for us unless Captain Zip has to come planetside.”

“Very good sir,” Jumper said.

The second warning started up and Kara sighed.  “I’d suggest you get to your ship, pilot.  Thank you, Lieutenant.”

The pair saluted and left.  Kara drained her cup of caff and collected her datapads before heading for her room.  She double checked her pack and her comm units, made sure her personal datapad was in the pack, and then headed up to the bridge to await departure from hyperspace.

Captains Zip and Sei’lar were on the bridge, Sei’lar was standing just behind his navigator, one hand resting on the Sullustan’s chair while Zip stood by the door, with one hand resting on a rail that had been attached to the wall.  Kara adjusted her pack and moved to lean against the rail beside Zip, gripping the rail lightly in preparation for their exit from hyperspace.

“General,” Zip said after a moment.

“Captain,” Kara said.  She slid a glance at her companion, “Don’t make a mess while I’m gone, yeah?”

“Sir?”  Zip asked.

Kara sighed, “Never mind.”

It had been easier as a Padawan, even a senior one.  The troops followed their generals, but there had been something different about being Commander Saje.  It was like she’d been closer to their troops before they’d cut her braid.  Whether that was just because the 115th had a different attitude than the 425th or because she didn’t have the braid, it stung a bit.  She wasn’t the sort to find a friend in every stranger, but Kara did like having friends, and she liked teasing them a bit when she could.  Surrounded by people she was going to trust with her life and who she was pledged to lead and protect, she had hoped to make a few friends, but the gulf formed by the word _sir_ seemed insurmountable.

The ship shuddered slightly as it came out of hyperspace and Kara straightened, loosening her grip on the rail when no alarms sounded and no shouts came.  She eased forward enough to get a look through the viewscreen to find a world growing larger as they approached.  Its surface was green and brown with large bodies of blue, and one of the three moons was visible towards the northern part of the planet.

“That’s Alsaiir,” Kara said quietly.

“Yes General,” Captain Sei’lar replied.  “There are no capital ships on the scope, and we’re establishing contact with the ground.  The enclave appears to be broadcasting automatically.”

Kara nodded slightly as she looked down at the planet.  “Let me know if there are any surprises, Captain.  I’ll be on the gunship.”  She glanced at Zip as she walked past.

“General,” Zip said.

Kara turned.

“Did you remember your commlink?”  Zip asked with a little smirk that told her that he knew exactly what he was doing.

Kara’s smile was sharp and predatory, “I’ve got two.”  She paused, “ _Zippy.”_  

As the door closed, she distinctly heard Zip’s aggrieved, “Who told her that story!”

  As she took the lift down, Kara reminded herself that she owed Chip and Fallback a drink for sharing that story with her.  She could understand why Zip had shortened his name from the original Zippy, given that he worked hard to present himself as a sober captain worthy of his rank.  It still made her wonder what was hiding behind the shield of rank, what sort of cadet would he have been for an offhand comment of ‘zippy little thing’ would have stuck as a name.

Then she dismissed her contemplations as idle fancy best suited for when she wasn’t about to go on a mission and strode onto the flight deck ready for whatever Alsaiir would throw at them.


	3. Through the Gates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Knight Squadron head for the relics vault, and Kara remembers an old lesson.

The mountain range that held the Jedi enclave had an unreal beauty that stunned Kara.  Looking around, she could understand why this would be a Jedi retreat.  Even surrounded by soldiers and wearing armor, Kara could feel something in her relax as she breathed the clean air.  She moved out of the way of the squads as she turned around, staring up at the snowcapped peaks.

Finally, she turned to look at her men, “Sergeant Blaze, are we ready to go?”

“Yes General,” Blaze said.

“Lieutenant, we’ll be back,” Kara said.

“We’ll be waiting,” Screech replied.

Kara watched as her squads formed up before heading for the duracrete stairs.

“Sir,” Blaze said.

Kara turned to look at the Sergeant, who was clearly uncomfortable, “Yes, Sergeant?”

“Let us take point, sir,” Blaze said carefully.  For a moment, Kara considered protesting, but there was something about the nervousness Blaze was emitting, and the tense protectiveness of Knight Squadron that prompted her to nod slightly.

“Go ahead,” she said.

The nervous relief that flooded out of Blaze as Hopper and Rusty started down the stairs told Kara that something had happened that she didn’t understand.  When she looked over at Hook and his Bucket Squadron, their collective relief surprised her.  Clearly something was going on between the squads. As she fell in beside Chip, Kara made a note to see if she could get someone to explain things when they got back to the _Retrieval._   Something told her that is was probably something a general was supposed to overlook, but she wasn’t just a general, she was a _Jedi,_ and if there was a problem she would at least offer her help.

Fallback dropped back to walk on Kara’s other side, and she glanced at him at of the corner of her eye, but he was carefully not looking at her so she let it go.  Whatever was going on between the squads would have to wait, so long as it didn’t interfere with the mission.

The enclave entrance wasn’t readily apparent from the landing pad, but the road lead them around an outcropping and there it was.  A wall extended across the narrow canyon opening made of locally quarried stone.  The wall reached halfway up the canyon wall height, and centered on the wall was a guard house.

“Where’s the gate?”  Rusty muttered.

“Over here,” Kara said, heading for the point where the left edge of the wall met the canyon.  There was a pile of boulders like an ancient rock slide, behind which was the gate.  “The previous owner was very paranoid, given that this was his personal residence.”  She touched the gate with her finger tips, considering it for a moment, then reached over to flip open a panel disguised as a rocky protrusion.  “Thankfully, the Council was slightly less paranoid.”  She keyed in the code and watched the door slide into the wall.

Once the way was clear, Kara walked inside.  The path led around a second outcropping into the box canyon.  She stopped short as she cleared the outcropping, because like the mountains that sheltered it, holos did not do the retreat justice.  There were few straight lines, all of the buildings looked as if they were organically grown from the canyon floor and walls, only the windows showing the differences in some places.  The path they followed was curved around gardens that looked a little unkempt, leading towards the largest of the buildings.

“Excuse me sir,” Blaze said suddenly.

Kara started and moved, remembering that she wasn’t there for a week spent in meditation and contemplation.  “Sorry, Sergeant,” she murmured.  She tucked her hands behind her back once she’d cleared the entry, “Sometimes I hate this war.”

It was very jarring to observe her troops in the midst of a place meant to harbor peace.

Kara forced the discontent from her mind, reminding herself of her mission.  She turned, “Sergeant Hook, secure the gate.  Sergeant Blaze, let’s go.”

She waited for Hook’s salute, then headed into the enclave as she pulled up her mental map of the area.  Behind her, she could hear her squad falling in with a few soft murmurs.  Their path went past the larger buildings, to a smaller building just behind the largest building.  This, according to the map she’d seen, was the archives that would lead to the vault.

“Sir?”  Blaze said as Kara headed to one of the tables.

“I need my datapad,” Kara said.  She glanced at Blaze, “Or is there something else I need to hear?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean sir,” Blaze said stiffly.

Kara hummed softly as she pulled out the datapad with the map on it and started it up.  “Did you know that the Force allows Jedi to know things like emotions?”  She glanced sideways at the uncomfortable Blaze.  “I can’t read minds without deliberate effort, but emotions?  It’s kind of like being in a crowded room and listening to all the conversations going on around you.  I know there’s something going on, my question is, is there something I need to know about it or is there something I could do that would help you deal with it?”

“No, sir,” Blaze said.

Kara blinked slightly then jumped at the sound of armor smacking armor.  Fallback had his hand on Chip’s arm, restraining him.  Clearly, whatever issue existed was something they didn’t want her to know about, and remembering the odd tension and relief on the landing pad, Kara wondered if she even wanted to pursue it.  Then her datapad beeped and Kara focused.  They had a mission, whatever was going on in the ranks would have to wait for a more opportune time.

“All right,” Kara said, “the door to the vault is over here.”  She headed towards one of the side walls where there was supposed to be a hidden door to a turbolift.  She ran her fingers over the carved panel for a moment, with its beautiful depiction of a forest glade, then looked back at her pad.  The way in was a light situated at the top of the panel, out of her reach.  She regarded the light for a moment, then turned to look at the squad that was now watching her.

“Chip, can you give me a boost,” she asked finally.  “I need to trigger this thing.”

“You can’t,” Chip began even as he started forward.

“No,” Kara said, “jumping heights is one thing, floating on air is another.  It’s harder to do for myself and I can’t trigger this and float at the same time.”

“All right sir,” Chip said as he linked his hands.

Kara stepped onto the boost and braced a hand on the carved panel while she quickly worked to get the trigger open.  “Down please,” she told Chip finally as the carved panel moved to the side, “and thank you.”

“You’re welcome sir,” Chip said.

“Doesn’t it seem odd,” Hopper said as they crowded onto the lift.

“What?”  Kara asked as she watched Fallback pressed the button to go down.

“Um, just that it would be so hard to open the lift.”  Hopper said, “Sir.”

“The Archivist who handled this place could have used the Force to do it,” Kara said, bracing herself as the lift began to drop.  A hand ghosted against her back, probably Rusty, giving her silent support.  “The kind of fine touch that requires is difficult to do on an unfamiliar object.  Now that I know how it’s triggered, I could just use the Force next time.”

The lift came to a halt, and Kara quickly cleared the way for her squad, approaching the first of the vault doors.  She pulled up her most serene expression as the room seemed to echo with Master Yoda’s familiar admonishment that _size mattered not._

The first vault door was heavy, too heavy for most beings to lift alone.  It required a Jedi to open, not only because of the weight, but because of the difficult maneuver it required to open all the way.  Kara pressed her hands to the door, feeling the solid stone within as her men moved around behind her.  She tilted her head forward slightly, letting the Force fill her for a long moment.  She then carefully lifted the block and shifted it to the left, then she lifted again and slid it back to the right.  Carefully she slid it back and forth, freeing it from the different catches that held it.  Finally, it was raised enough that she could slide the block all the way to the left and allow her men through the door.

One of them whistled softly as they took in the thickness of the block, that it was wider than two of them standing shoulder to shoulder.

“Master Yoda always says, size matter not,” Kara said softly as she followed Rusty and Hopper into the next chamber.

“I remember General Yoda,” Rusty said, “it sounds like something he’d say.”

Kara smiled, “Did he get you in the shins, Rusty?”

“No?”  Rusty said slowly.

Kara chuckled, “We used to joke that you weren’t an initiate until Master Yoda hit you in the shins.  Everyone got at least one.”  She turned her attention to the next door.  It was equal in size to the other door, with a large ten meter by ten meter panel taken up with smaller panels, each of which was covered with circular markings, but none of which lined up, and with a single blank space currently on the bottom left.

“It’s a puzzle,” Kara said, studying it, “A puzzle lock.  I’ve heard of these, but I’ve never seen them.”

“How does it work?”  Chip asked.

“You have to know what it’s meant to say, or be, to put it together.  There are currents, if you misalign it too badly, you can be electrocuted.”  Kara replied.  “Each square can only move in certain patterns to finish it.”

“And if you can’t get it?”  Chip asked after a moment.

“Fail enough, and the contents of the vault explode,” Kara said, “it’s quite ingenious.  Not useful if you need to go in or out a lot, like at the Temple, but useful if you expect to be gone for a while.”  She tilted her head slightly, “I need to meditate on this before I try anything.  They wouldn’t have sent me if I didn’t know this.”

“What should we do?”  Blaze asked.

Kara glanced at her Sergeant, “Eat something?  I’m surprised none of you have noticed that Mash’s stomach has been growling since we got on the elevator.”

Everyone turned to look at the trooper in question and he tilted his head, “What?”

“You forget to eat?”  Blaze asked.

Mash hesitated, “Maybe?”

Kara sighed, “Everyone just take a break, okay?  Don’t hover, but don’t go too far.”  She took her personal datapad out of her pack and sank down before the door.  She looked up at the door as her hand began moving the stylus.  There was something familiar about the pieces, something she’d definitely seen before.

After a while, Kara took a deep breath, closed her eyes and sank even deeper into the Force, searching for her memories.  She was aware of her squad moving around behind her, of her hand tracing something on her datapad, and even could detect some worry from outside, possibly her other squads.  She almost pushed to make sure, but instead turned back to her original task.

It was the scent of something hot that brought her out of her trance.  Kara turned to find Fallback putting a steaming cup of caff next to her.

“Thought you’d like some, sir,” Fallback said.

Kara smiled, “Thank you.”  She picked up and took a sip, fighting not to grimace at its strength, “Do we have any sugar?”

“Sure,” Fallback said, “hold on.  Do you want something to eat?”

“No,” Kara said, “I’m fine.”

Fallback raised his eyebrows, then stood up and went to get the sugar.  Kara glanced down at her pad.  It was Yoda, thwapping some poor initiate on the shins.  The boy in question had a branching image of a Jedi Knight, lightsaber lit, and looking like some holovid hero.

“Of course,” Kara said as it connected.  She jumped to her feet, staring at the pattern, “why didn’t I see it before.”  She touched her left wrist, then turned, “I know how to get in.”

“How?” Blaze asked.

“I should have remembered, Master Yoda set the lock three years ago, when they shut everything down.  This, this was something he told me about.”  She studied the panels.  “When I was about six, I saw him thump a couple of initiates who’d just passed their Padawan Trials.  They’d been bragging about becoming Jedi Knights and great warriors.  Master Yoda told them that _‘Wars not make one great’._   That phrase smacked me as being something so important, it, well, it resonated for me.  I told Master Yoda how it felt and he told me a very interesting story.”

She made her first move carefully.  “When Master Yoda was young, already a Knight but not a Master, he met a being who was very old and very sad.  He'd been an explorer, an adventure, dedicated to helping people wherever he went, much to the dismay of his people.  Then his people got into a war they couldn't lose and the being became a warrior.  When they had used their great weapons, and were struggling to hold onto their final city, the leaders of his people gave the being a weapon that would end the war.  So, he took the weapon and he used it, and he learned that his leaders had not spoken of the price.  That to end the war with the weapon would mean that only this very sad and very old being would survive the war.  Yoda gave me a token from that being, a bracelet with a metal tag.  On it was written "Wars do not make us great" in the language of that fallen race to remember their folly and the price they paid.”

She gestured at the now completed puzzle, “It’s something only the two of us would know, I imagine.”

“That is impressive,” Blaze said as the door opened.

“Let’s finish our drinks and get this packed up,” Kara said.  “This seems to have taken longer than I thought it would.”


	4. The Vault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara enters the Vault, and remembers a valuable lesson.

The vault was a bit of a letdown for Kara.  With the two doors and security, she’d almost hoped for something exciting.  The vault was a dull grey room with four shelves spaced on the left hand side of the door, and three desks with chairs on the right side separated by walls that ran floor to ceiling and extended into the room a good four feet past the desks.  Glancing up, Kara noticed that there were projectors for ray shielding in the ceiling of each opening.  There were a dozen relics inside, as well as carrying cases for each one.  Kara checked her pad, remembering the list of warnings and then looked at her group, “All right, I’m going to need some help with this,” she announced.  “I can’t pick up two of these or get close to one of them because it activates and we don’t want that to happen.”

“Why, what happens?”  Chip asked.

“This says, it will render me unconscious for weeks, and the other one will affect my thought processes and emotional stability,” Kara said.  “So those are both bad.”

“Which ones are those, sir?”  Blaze asked as Tiny started opening the carrying boxes.

“AN-657 and RR-822,” Kara said.  “The boxes are numbered same as the relics and those two have special shielding.”

“Then let’s get them first,” Blaze said, “so we don’t have to worry.”  He gestured to Hopper and Chip who immediately began checking the shelves for the two relics.

Kara smiled at him, “Thanks Sergeant.”  She hovered in the doorway as the two relics were secured and sealed away, then moved in, wanting to get a better look at the other relics in the room.

“Sir,” Chip said as he packed up a carved pyramid of glass, “If those relics are so dangerous, why are they just sitting here?”

Kara shrugged, “I don’t know, Chip.  Maybe someone who was Force blind was studying them for the Order.  They do that, hire people who can’t use the Force, to do things when using the Force, or even being sensitive to the Force, would be more dangerous.  Whatever’s going on, it’s better for all of us to keep these safe.”

“Yes sir,” Chip said.

They loaded the crates onto a pair of carts and put on the lift, then Kara sealed the doors behind them.  While Mash, Rusty, Hopper, and Bounce to checked over the security, Kara joined Blaze, Fallback, Chip, and Tiny on the lift headed up.

“May I ask something sir?”  Tiny asked after a moment.

“What do you want to know?”  Kara asked.

“Why are we taking the relics, why not leave them here?  The security is formidable.”

Fallback snorted, “Never underestimate the power of high explosives in small spaces.  I could blast through that outer door in minutes.  Take longer on the puzzle door, but I could do it.”

“Not to mention Dooku,” Kara said, “he could get past it.  He was taught by Master Yoda as a Padawan and he may have come here before he left the Order.”

The lift doors opened to reveal to two troopers waiting, weapons half-lifted to firing position.  Kara jerked back into Fallback with a yelp while Chip surged forward, lifting his own weapon.

“Sir!”  The pair said, coming to strict attention as Fallback helped Kara steady herself.

“What the kriffing hell are you doing?”  Kara demanded, stepping forward and glaring as Chip set himself between her and the two troopers.

“Sorry sir, we couldn’t raise you on the radio.  Captain said to shoot down the door if we had to.”  The left side trooper said, saluting.  He had black, five point stars on his gloves.  Kara glanced at the other trooper, who had red, five point stars on his glove.

Kara looked at Blaze, “Sergeant, is that true?”

From the sudden surge of guilty shame, she knew that it was, his nod was almost unnecessary.  “It didn’t even occur to me,” Blaze said.

“That deep down, with those protections, we wouldn’t have noticed until we tried to call out that there was trouble,” Kara said.  “Next time, we’ll remember this and act accordingly.”  She turned back to the troopers, “What are your names?”

“I’m Crash, he’s Bang, sir,” Black star said.

“What’s the situation,” Kara said.  Then pushed on Chip’s shoulder, “Move, trooper.  I need an update and you need to empty this lift so the rest of the squad can get up here.”  Chip went still for a moment, then shifted aside.  Kara stepped off the lift and headed away from the lift to get out of her squad’s way.  Crash and Bang followed her with little hesitation.  “What’s the situation?”

“Seppies sir,” Bang said, “They’ve brought a large fleet.”

“The _Retrieval’s_ getting pounded.”

“Captain Sei’lar wants to evac.”

“Captain Zip wants orders.”

“Lieutenant Screech is concerned that the landing zone will be targeted soon.”

“Hold on,” Kara said, then pointed at Crash, “We’ve got Separatists in-system and engaged with the _Retrieval,_ Zip wants to come get us, and Screech thinks we’ll lose the landing pad.  Anything else?”

“No sir,” Crash said after a moment, and Bang shook his head slightly.

Kara nodded, “All right, get back to your squad.  Tell the Sergeant to use the security post in the gate tower to make sure the shields are up full.  I want two men on that tower until I say otherwise.”

The pair saluted and headed off.  Kara bit her lip for a moment, considering her options.  She glanced at her men, who were fussing over the carts and very carefully not looking at her.  They’d heard the situation all right, and she wondered how many of them were thinking about the defense that had nearly destroyed them.  Then she sighed, pulled out her commlink, and opened a channel to the _Retrieval._

“ _Retrieval,_ this is General Saje,” Kara said, “do you copy?”

“General Saje, this is Captain Zip,” came the near instant response.  “Good to hear from you, sir.”

“The Vault blocked our communications,” Kara said, “we didn’t realize it until we got topside. What’s the situation up there?”

“Captain Sei’lar says we’ve got corvettes and frigates with two of the big capital ships.  We’re holding back right now, but we’re out gunned and they haven’t released any of their smaller ships.”  Zip said.  “We’re losing shields already, and Captain’s concerned we’ll lose the hyperdrive soon.”

“What about communications?”  Kara asked.

“We’ve got them for now,” Zip said grimly.

“I need to speak with Sei’lar,” Kara said calmly.

“Sir,” Zip said.  “One moment.”

Kara lowered her commlink, staring at the wall, unable to see her way around what was needed.

“General Saje,” Sei’lar finally said.

“Captain,” Kara said, “sounds like we’re in a tight spot.”

“That we are,” Sei’lar said.  “I do not recommend trying to lift off right now, General.  There’s too many ships up here to say they wouldn’t target you.”

Kara nodded, “That was my thought.  The fleet is a two-day flight away.”

“They’ll have the planet in two days,” Sei’lar said.

“We’ve got some protection here,” Kara said.  She squared her shoulders against the rising horror of her men.  “Get to lightspeed, get to the fleet.  Bring back whatever help they’ll give you.  We’ve got supplies and good shields here, we can hold out a week.”

“Are you sure General?”  Sei’lar asked.

Kara made herself turn to look at the squad, hating herself for awakening this fear in them.  “I’m sure,” she said softly.  “Go, get us help.  May the Force be with you.”

“May the Force be with you,” Sei’lar replied, _“Retrieval_ out.”

Kara lowered her commlink, “I’m sorry,” she said.  “I’m so sorry.”

Chip swallowed, “We do what we have to, sir.”

“And we have to survive this.”  Kara said.  She took a deep breath to steady herself and lifted her commlink again, “Home Squad, this is General Saje, come back.”

“General, we copy.”  Jumper said.

“Inform the Lieutenant that he needs to get everything together and come to the enclave.  There wasn’t a decent landing site, so it’ll have to be on foot.”  Kara said.

“We will General.  There are no fighters on my scoop right now though.”  Jumper said.

“Understood, Jumper.  Get them moving,” Kara said.

“Copy that,” Jumper said.

Kara swallowed and turned to her men, “Mash, Bounce, the central security is located in the building behind the Archives.  Get in there and see what you can find out about the private landing pad, sensors, and the labyrinth caves.”  She accepted their salutes and watched them leave.  “Tiny, Rusty, we’re going to move the relics to the private pad as soon as we get word back from Mash and Bounce.  You’re in charge of that.”  She scratched her left wrist slowly.  “I’m going to get some fresh air in the meditation garden.  When Screech gets here, have someone check over the kitchens and bunks.”

She turned and walked away, forcing herself to appear calm and unhurried even as she felt herself beginning to suffocate under the weight of fear from her squad.  Kara found a comfortable seat on a bench in the garden and settled down.  She closed her eyes and began a meditative breathing exercise.

Kara knew her troopers, she’d seen their records, and she knew why they were afraid.  If her issues were about losing her back-up, her troopers would see this as a repeat of what had happened in the Abrion Sector.  They’d been part of a ground based defense that had been overrun shortly after Geonosis.  They’d also sent their only space transport away for back up, and while waiting, they’d lost almost an entire battalion and their Jedi General.  Kara knew there had been some plans to fold the 425th’s remnants into another battalion before Kara made her case for a search and rescue battalion, and she wasn’t sure yet if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

When she’d first started, she’d promised herself that they wouldn’t experience this again, that her work would mean they wouldn’t be stranded.  Now she was on her second mission and she’d effectively stranded them.  No wonder there was so much fear in the air, the last time this had happened they’d lost over nine hundred brothers.

Kara thought over the protections on the enclave.  They weren’t impenetrable by any means, but they were solid.  According to the data she’d been given, the shields were upgraded and maintained, which had to count for something.  She let the Force flow through her, not seeking anything, but opening herself to being a vessel of this greater power.  She still felt no warnings, no sense of something lurking.  It had to mean that something was going to go right, that things were better than they seemed.  She had to trust that, and she had to give that faith to her people.

That was important.

She thought it over, she had to trust herself and the Force, and give that trust to these thirty men who followed her.  The Force had a plan, and they were part of it.  Whether that plan was for their life or their death, she couldn’t say, but she had to hold out hope that it was for their life.  She had so many visions that had yet to come true, that it wasn’t yet possible to occur, visions with her in them, with her troopers.  The Force was their ally, and it was a powerful one, if she let it be.

There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

There is no death, there is the Force.

The Code she had grown up with, the one she repeated at least once over the course of a day.  How many times had Honso ordered her to meditate on the Code after some outburst or other?  Some months it seemed like every day she spent time in meditation.

Finally, Kara opened her eyes to find Chip sitting on the bench across from her, helmet off, and gaze focused on a bed of flowers.  “Chip?”  She asked.

“Sir?”  Chip blinked, “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Kara said, “I just needed to rebalance myself.”  She carefully stood up, “What’s our status?”

“Tiny and Rusty took the relics to the private landing pad,” Chip said as he stood up as well, “Mash commed earlier about those maps.  The Lieutenant says the Seppies blew up the ship.  Dash from Home Squad is putting together dinner for everyone.”

“Good, thank you,” Kara said.  She scratched the side of her neck, “Chip, we’re going to be fine.”

“Sir?”  Chip asked.

“We will be fine, I know we will.”  Kara said.  “We have the Force on our side.”  She turned, “Now, let’s go see about getting things organized, we’re going to be here five days minimum.”

The second thing Master Honso had been found of telling her was to assume the attitude of serenity and in time the assumption would become the attitude.

 


	5. Under the Shield

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and her squads have spent four days waiting out the Separatist bombardment. The Republic should be here tomorrow.

“One more day.”

Kara turned and smiled as Chip entered the garden, “Hey Chip.  Yes, the earliest they’ll be back is tomorrow.”

There was a concussive blast and Kara shook her head, “I guess you really can adjust to anything.”

The Separatists had been pounding them for the past three days, and while Kara had allowed some return fire, mostly she kept them hunkered down.  They had to survive, and part of that meant not getting the Separatists so worked up that they’d actually break down the shield before they were ready.

“Something on your mind, sir?”  Chip asked.

“Hoping that we don’t get them angry too soon,” Kara said, glancing towards the mouth of the canyon.

“I know we can pull this off,” Chip said.  “We’ll make it.”

Kara smiled, “Yeah we well.  We’re just that good.”  She stepped onto the path, and then glanced at Chip out of the corner of her eye, “When we tell this story, please don’t tell them how bored we all got.”

“I’m saving the rock climbing contest for drink night,” Chip said, “I’m sure to get at least one free drink out of it.”

“In that case, I get to share our adventures in staff fighting,” Kara replied.

“What about the pond?”  Chip asked.

“No thank you,” Kara shook her head firmly, “but if Rusty wants to share it, he’s a better story teller than either of us.”

“Maybe we should all sit down and write the reports together so that we don’ta end up sounding like idiots,” Chip said.

Kara laughed, “Run that one by Sergeant Blaze later.  For now, we should get going, I promised Gale that I’d rematch him in hand to hand today.”

“He’s never going to win,” Chip said as he followed Kara.

“Hope springs eternal,” Kara said.  “Besides, Master Yoda teaches that there is no try, do or do not.”

They headed towards the back of the enclave where a large, grassy expanse had been claimed for hand to hand combat practice.  It had been four days since they’d sealed themselves in to hide from the Separatists and it had quickly grown boring.  Kara had realized within hours that allowing the men to get bored meant Bones and Screech would come to her, regaling her at full volume of their attempts to entertain themselves.  Thus, they had instituted a series of challenges and classes to keep everyone distracted.

Kara had especially enjoyed the hand to hand classes, after she’d made it quite clear that she was not to be groped or propositioned.  Kara had experienced the activity known as sex precisely twice, and had absolutely no interest in ever trying it again.  It had only taken one short and painful lesson to teach her troops that as far as they were concerned, she was untouchable.

Bones and Screech were waiting for her when she left the garden.  “If someone else decided to burn their groin, I don’t want to know,” Kara said.  “Just stick them in the kitchen.”

“I wish, sir,” Screech said.  “It’s more that we’re concerned about what happens when we leave.”

“Oh?”  Kara asked.

“We can’t guarantee to be able to meet all our medical needs if it comes to a fire fight,” Screech said.  “What we have on hand is sufficient if we weren’t working on the move, but if we’re running, we don’t have the right tools.”

“I thought we had enough,” Kara said.

“Bren and Mash had a philosophical discussion early this morning, sir,” Bones said.  “When I went to deal with their injuries, I discovered that about three quarters of our bacta patches are expired and useless.”

“Why am I just now hearing about Bren and Mash?”  Kara asked, then sighed softly.  She crossed her arms and rocked slightly, “I understand your concerns.  I don’t know how much contact we’ll make with the Republic when they get here, but we’ll pass it on.  In the meantime, we’ll conserve supplies.  I don’t care what these idiots get up to, unless it’s life or death, do not use limited supplies.”

“Yes sir,” Screech said and the pair saluted.

Kara turned to Chip, “Do you know what Bren and Mash were up to?”

“No sir,” Chip shook his head.

“Let’s go see what’s going on here,” Kara said.

They headed through the enclave to the security center that was their center of operations, were Sergeant Blaze was overseeing Knight Squad’s warm up routines.  Chip cleared his throat, but made no move to join his squad.  Kara considered releasing him, but knew that Chip would refuse.  At least she’d been able to bargain down to one clone following her in the enclave rather than something worse.

Hook was in the security center staring pensively at the monitor.

“Sergeant,” Kara said as she fell in beside him.

“General,” Hook said.

“So, Bren and Mash?” Kara said.

“Nothing to worry about sir,” Hook said, “It’s been taken care of.”

“Not the question I was asking,” Kara said shortly.

“Sir?”

“No, but this is the fifth time that I’ve heard about issues between the squads.  At Blaze’s request, I haven’t gotten involved, but it’s starting to look like I will have to.”  Kara looked at the Sergeant, “I can feel what’s going on around here, you know.  I know exactly why fights are breaking out.”  She squared her shoulders and met his eyes firmly, “If I hear one more word about Bucket Squad getting into a fight with anyone, there will be transfers.  We’re in the field on a mission, the only people we should be fighting are the Separatists.  Do you understand me, Sergeant?”

“Yes General.”  Hook said softly not quite meeting her eyes.

“Good,” Kara said.  “I don’t want to do that, but the kind of emotions that are being generated are very negative and that’s not healthy.  Jealousy, anger, fear, those are the tools of the Sith, they use those powers to take the quick route to power.”  She hesitated, “It’s… uncomfortable for me to feel that.  I’m trying to think of what can be done to minimize the issues and keeping the stability we need, but this is early days.  There are problems to be solved and mistakes to be made.  Ask them to hold on, please, we’ll get there.”

After a moment, Hook nodded.  “I understand, I’ll talk to them.”

The console began to beep and Kara and Hook hurried to check.  It took a moment, but they could see the large tank approaching them.  “That’s not promising,” Kara said.  She pulled up some of the other sensors as Hook moved to work beside her.

“The shields won’t take much from that,” he said finally.

Kara nodded slightly.  “Well, we do have an evac plan.  Get your squad together and start getting ready.”  She pulled up the alert system and sent out the triple horn blast that signaled trouble incoming.  “Don’t go into the labyrinth just yet, but be ready to go.”

“Yes sir,” Hook said with a quick salute before he left.

Moments later, Screech and Blaze came in, “What’s going on, sir?”  Screech asked.

“Incoming artillery that’s going to blow the shield,” Kara said shortly.  “I estimate we’ve got about an hour before bombardment commences, and maybe another two before the shield fails entirely.”

“But the Republic won’t be here until tomorrow!”  Blaze blurted out.

“We could always tell them to come back tomorrow,” Screech offered, “think they’ll listen?”

Kara shook her head slightly, that was a friendship she had been surprised by, but apparently, they had been in the same squad on Kamino before Screech had gone officer and reassigned.  It was a sign that they were beginning to let her in, not one of their own, but someone they were beginning to trust.

Finally, Kara turned, “All right Lieutenant, you know what your squad has to do?”

“Yes sir,” Screech said with a salute.  “I wish you all the best of luck.”

Kara nodded as he left.  Then she turned to Blaze, “Go make sure everyone’s ready for this.  I’m going to keep an eye on the monitors.  When that tanks starts up, I’ll join you in the labyrinth. Take Chip with you.”

“But sir,” Chip protested.

“There’s too many last minute preparations to make to let you stand around and do nothing,” Kara said.  “I’m going to be here, and I’ll be at the labyrinth before the shield goes down.  I promise.”

Chip swallowed, looking almost devastated.  “Yes sir.”

Kara watched them leave, then turned back to the console with the distinct feeling that she’d forgotten something.  Leaning over, she studied the path of the tank and reconfirmed her estimate of an hour until the bombardment began.  One of the boards lit up and Kara turned to see that it was the board on the hidden landing pad.  Clearly Screech had gotten someone up there to get the system going.

“That’s not going to work,” Kara muttered.  She tapped her fingers for a moment, thinking of the best way to keep the droids from figuring out the purpose of that panel.  Then she moved over to lean against it, reaching into the components with the Force.  She’d taken the required mechanical course as a Padawan, and had barely scraped up a passing grade.  The kind of fine tune maneuvering that most of her vague ideas appeared to require were well beyond her.  Instead, she thought of all the troopers she had, and hit the landline up to the landing pad.

“Landing pad,” a cheerful voice said.

“This is General Saje, I need to speak with Pilot Jumper,” Kara said, wondering which of Screech’s people she had gotten.

“Hold please, sir,” the voice said.  She heard a soft thud as the receiver was sat down, then, “Hey Jumper,” the trooper bellowed, “General’s looking for you.”

Kara smiled a little.

“I’ll be right there, Kane,” she heard someone reply.

There was a rustling noise, “Pilot Jumper will be here presently, if you’d like to continue holding.”

“I can wait,” Kara replied.

The receiver was set down again and Kara leaned against the console, tapping her fingers on its metal surface.

“General Saje?”

“Pilot Jumper,” Kara said, “I’m hoping that you can help me out here.”

“Do you need me to come down there, sir?”  Jumper asked.

“No,” Kara said.  “I need advice on how to just down the console that shows that the landing pad is active without actually destroying the connection.  I’m no kind of a mechanic.”

“Uh,” Jumper said, “I need to think a moment, sir.”

“Take your time,” Kara said.

There was a long moment of silence before Jumper said, “I know what you need to do.  Directly under the console around the lights and the screen are energy conduits.  If you disable or damage those, they won’t show what’s going on, but they also won’t impact the actual data transfers.  The lines are small, but they have a current.”

Kara hummed for a moment, “Okay, I think I can do this.  Let me know if your console shuts off.”  She pressed a finger down beside one of the blinking orange lights and took a calming breath.  After a moment, she could feel the energy going to the light bulb, and she carefully cut it off.  Sensing electric lines was about the only part of that long ago mechanic’s class that she’d had any aptitude for, and cutting it off was a simple twist of the Force.  “Is the console working?”

“Yes sir,” Jumper said.

“I’m going to leave this line open,” Kara said, “let me know if I mess something up.”

Kara slid into the Force like she would a warm tub, letting the energy fill her and surround her, then she carefully began to run her finger over the myriad of lights, sending each one dark.  It wasn’t easy, she had to do each piece one by one, but in the end, the console looked inactive.  She tapped the receiver, “Everything still working?”

“Yes sir,” Jumper replied.

Kara nodded, “Thank you for your assistance, Jumper.  I’ll see you on the other side.”

“I’ll see you soon, sir,” Jumper replied.

Kara hung up the receiver and checked on the tank, which was maneuvering into what appeared to be optimal firing position.  “Kriff,” she muttered, checking her belt for blaster and light saber, and adjusting her back.  “Time to go.”

She stopped long enough to lock the security center behind her before racing across the enclave to the entrance to the labyrinth.  Waiting for her was Crash and Bang from Bucket Squadron.

“General,” the pair said with a quick salute.

“Is everybody in place?”  Kara asked.

“Waiting on you,” Crash said.

Kara nodded slightly, then turned back, “Is the entrance to the landing pad sealed?”

“Yes sir,” Bang said, “saw them shut it down myself.”

“And the paths are ready?”  Kara asked.

“Yes sir,” Crash said, “Fallback and Brave rechecked the ones they could get to, it’s all ready.”

“Then all we have to do is…” Kara began before a loud noise, like an off-tune key being plucked and then replayed through a sound program, echoed through the compound.  Moments later the shield fell.  “Kriffing hells,” Kara breathed, reaching for her lightsaber as droids poured into the compound.

“Time to go, sir?”  Bang asked.

“We need to make sure they’ll come after us,” Kara began, just before a contingent of droids opened fire.

“Now?”  Crash asked as the pair began returning fire.

“Go,” Kara said.  They had to make sure that the droids wouldn’t notice the passage to the landing pad, but instead followed the other two squads.

“Sir, they’re coming,” Bang said, “You should come with us.”

“Go,” Kara snapped, deflecting blasts.  “I’ll be right behind you.”

There was a long moment of silence, then Crash said, “Sir, I’m really sorry.”

Kara half turned, “What?”

Arms encircled her waist and then she was dangling over someone’s shoulder.  Kara almost dropped her lightsaber, only a quick Force pull kept it in her hand.  She started to struggle, but was distracted by more blaster fire, and she carefully deflected it as they entered the labyrinth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The thing about the bored troopers and fire... I got the idea from a Stargate Atlantis/Generation Kill series called Rock Happy. If those are your fandoms, I do recommend the series. (Essentially that bored Marines will set the hair down there on fire and then go whining to the medics when they get burned.)


	6. The Labyrinth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the shield down, Kara leads her squads into hiding, and learns some understanding along the way.

The labyrinth was named as such because it was a maze, but more than that, it had a number of side chambers that could be opened or closed from one of the security consoles, or by a small remote control.  Crash and Bang carried Kara into one that held the rest of Bucket Squadron.

Kara shut her lightsaber off, torn between the urge to punch one of them, or scream at them.

“I am so sorry,” Crash said, “General, please.”

Kara crossed her arms, “Explain.”

“General Misha,” Bang said, “he told us that he’d be right behind us.”

“He never came,” Crash finished.

It took a moment before Kara actually remembered that Misha had been the older Jedi who had commanded the 425th first.  The Corellian Jedi had died buying time for some of his troops to escape, overwhelmed by the droids that attacked.  She ducked her head, pointing her finger at Hook when the Sergeant began to speak up.  She was remembering the situation with the 425th, and it made Chip’s actions earlier make even more sense.

“I’m going to guess that getting to the Knight rendezvous point will be a statistical impossibility,” Kara said finally.

“They’ve sent at least two companies into the labyrinth,” one of the other troopers reported.  “You three were the last unaccounted for.”

“Then let’s see about drawing them further in,” Kara said, “remember, we want them to chase us.”  She clinched her hand, “If we get a chance, we should let Knight Squad know I’m with you.  I promised Chip I’d leave before the shield went down.”

“We’ll see what we can do,” Hook said.

Kara considered Bucket Squad, recognizing Bang and Crash, and Bren, with his black eye, and smiled, “Looks like you all get to back me up this time.  Today, our goal is to get to the exit while drawing as many of those droids into the labyrinth as we can.  Then we have to keep out of sight and _alive_ until the Republic gets here.  They are coming for us, and while it’s possible they could arrive today, I wouldn’t expect anything before tomorrow.  That being said, while I want you to watch my back same as I’ll watch yours, I am not a precious treasure, nor am I made of glass.  I am a sentient being, trained to handle myself in a variety of situations, and capable of doing my part.  Yes, I punched a droid and got hurt for it, but the thing is, there wasn’t any time for anyone else to react.  This is a war, we’re going to bleed and it is possible that any of us can die.  If it comes to that, if one death saves everything, then all you can do, all I can do, is respect that choice.  Now, we’ve got a job to do, so let’s get it done.”  She hefted her lightsaber, “As we Jedi say, may the Force be with you.”

The men slid their helmets on and Kara opened the door to reveal a trio of droids.  Kara snapped her lightsaber on before the droids could bring their weapons up and proceeded to destroy them.

“Nice,” Hook said softly.

Kara grinned at him briefly, “So, who has the map?”

They all looked between each other for a long moment before Bren reluctantly raised his hand, “I do, sir.”

“All right,” Kara said with a slight nod, “then you don’t get to be point or rear guard.  Your job is to get us safely through this.  Who has the best hearing?”

“I do, sir,” Bang said easily.

“Then you’re rear to start.  I can’t sense droids in the Force, they don’t have a living component to make a Force signature, so you’ll have to keep your ears open,” Kara said.  “Sergeant Hook, who’s on point?”

“Yanno,” Hook said after a moment.  “Take point.”

“Yes sir,” said a trooper with a pattern of green leaves on his chest and back plates.

As they moved out, Kara stepped out next to Hook, unlit lightsaber in her right hand and blaster drawn in her left.  It was mostly quiet, save for the scuff of their feet on the stone floor, and the soft hum of the lights her people had put up over the past few days during their explorations.  Kara leaned into the Force, reaching out around her, and soon she could feel the rest of her men, especially Chip, and she could feel their anxiety.  They must have realized she wasn’t there.  Kara bit her lip, wondering if there was some way she could reassure them.

Then there was the metallic scraping of droids behind them and Kara was spinning to back up Crash and Bang before anyone else was aware of the danger.  The corridor was narrow and Bang was down from a hit before she was close.  Kara used the wall to move past Crash, turning on her lightsaber and beginning to deflect bolts.

“Shoot around me,” She snapped over her shoulder, “otherwise this is a kill box.”

After a moment, there were some hesitant shots over her shoulders, and Kara sighed.  She would have to make sure there was time for practice in those sort of thing as they continued on.  The katas were effective, but they were patterns.  There were ways to shoot where her lightsaber wasn’t.

After too long, they took out the last of the droids and Kara shut down her lightsaber.  “How’s Bang?”  She asked quietly.

“He’ll live,” Crash said.  “It’s a graze at the armor joint.”

“Anyone else hurt?”  Kara asked.

“Are you?”  Hook replied.

Kara shook her head, “I’m fine.  The warm up was nice.”  The sudden flare of disbelief indicated that Hook didn’t have the same kind of humor she did.  “Get Bang bandaged,” she ordered them, “I need a moment.”

With that, Kara dropped down to one knee, leaning against the tunnel wall.  Again, she dropped into the Force, reaching out for Chip’s familiar signature.  It wasn’t easy to get the attention of someone who wasn’t Force sensitive, but Kara knew she could figure someway to let them know she was okay.  It was very easy for her to detect how close to panicking most of Knight Squad was, so she felt around them, letting her sense of their location override her own location.  Finally, she connected with Chip, carefully, radiating calm with all her might.  Chip started, and she could tell he wasn’t sure what was going on.

It wasn’t possible to give him words, Kara knew.  It was hard for her to project words to Force sensitives, but she could project emotions and maybe even an image of Bucket Squadron.

Finally, Chip stopped panicking, and slowly the others did too.  They might not understand fully, but she hoped she’d reassured them that she hadn’t stayed behind.

Kara took a moment to check in with Screech, reassured by their lack of urgent fear, then she returned to her own body.  It was like she was folding herself tight to fit back into her physical body.  That sensation was what led her to believe Master Yoda on how they were more than their physical self.

When Kara opened her eyes, the squad was all standing and watching her.

“What?”  Kara asked sharply as she stood up.

“N-nothing sir,” Hook said.

“Everything seems to be going to plan,” Kara said, “and I think I managed to convey to Knight Squad that I was with Bucket Squad, but we’ll see.”  She tapped her lightsaber a moment, “Let’s get going.  We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

They had two more ambushes by the droids, and lost Yanno in the process.  Then they were in the cavern where the different ‘safe’ passages through the labyrinth met up with Knight Squad coming out of their tunnel not long after with a squad of droids on their tail.  Grateful for the space available in the cavern, Kara plunged into the fight almost gleefully, lightsaber casting green light about her as she began deflecting bolts.  The squad hesitated, and then Chip and Bounce were firing from behind her, their shots sliding through the saber’s movements to take out the droids.

Once the droids were down, Kara turned, “Blow the tunnels.”

“Sir?”  Fallback stuttered.

“I said, blow the tunnels,” Kara told him.  “Give those droids something to think about.”

Fallback fumbled out a detonator and set it off.  There was a series of rumbling booms, and then dust washed out of the two ‘safe’ tunnels they’d wired.

“Sir?”  Blaze said.

Kara blinked at him, “That tank was a lot more powerful than indicated, took the shields down with a single hit.  It was safer for me to stay with Bucket Squad then try to link up with Knight Squad.”  She paused, “They did a decent job.  Remind me later, we need to practice shooting around my deflections with the other squads.”

“Yes sir,” Blaze said.

Kara turned away to where Bones was checking over Bucket Squad’s injuries, “Has anyone checked the line we ran to the landing pad?”

With the signal jammers in place, they had run land lines for communication.  They were also handy in that they could only be listened in on if someone found the lines.  There had been a competition of sorts to hide the lines in the various tunnels, to keep the droids from noticing them.

“Found it,” Cai from Bucket announced, “and it seems to be working.”

“Get Home Squad on the line,” Kara said, pointing at him, “make sure they’re secure.  Sergeant Hook, Sergeant Blaze, let’s get this place set up and secure.”

“Yes sir,” the Sergeants said with a quick salute.

Kara watched the squads get to work, knowing that if she tried to help out they would stare at her, and probably manage to destroy something.  The ‘salted’ tubers incident from her washing dishes in the kitchen the second day was definitely memorable.  After a moment, Kara located an out of the way spot by the wall to kneel down and begin meditating.

It wasn’t that she was unsettled or otherwise uncomfortable, but Kara found that meditating, letting herself slip into that state where she was held in the embrace of the Force, was also a way of putting her trust in her men.  Chip had told her quietly that when she meditated around him, it made him feel like she trusted him to keep watch for her.  She could tell that there was a difference in the soldiers around her, but she wasn’t sure she understood all the undertones.  Instead, she turned her mind to following the currents of the Force, looking to see if there was anything she needed to know about.

After a long moment, her fingers cramped and curled up.  She opened her eyes and reached over her shoulder, only to realize she’d left her pack back at the compound.  “Kriffing hell,” Kara swore.

“What’s wrong, sir?”

Kara jerked, twisting to find that Cai was standing nearby.  “I forgot my pack, with my datapads.”

“Is that going to be a problem, sir?”  Cai asked.

“No,” Kara said.  “I have complete backups on the _Retrieval_ and I backed up everything I added since we started the mission this morning.”  She sighed, “I just needed my personal pad for something.”  She didn’t want to go into the complications of her gift right now.  Then she remembered what Cai had been doing, “Is there news from the Lieutenant?”

“Yes sir,” Cai said, straightening up.  “He says they’re well settled and that their sensors are currently working optimally.  When the Republic arrives, they’ll know about it.”

“Thank you, Cai,” Kara said, standing up.  She glanced over the cavern quickly before her eyes settled on Blaze, “Report to your sergeant.”

“Yes General,” Cai said with a quick salute.

Kara walked over to Blaze, who was overseeing a group setting up for their next meal.  “General,” Blaze said.

“Sergeant,” Kara replied evenly, crossing her arms.

“Something the matter sir?”  Blaze asked.

“I left my pack in the enclave,” Kara said, “so I’m wondering what sort of… writing material we had available.”

“Something we need to be aware of?” Blaze asked.

“Not sure yet,” Kara replied.

“I’m sure we can scrounge something,” Blaze said.  “We’ll take care of it General.  Anything else you need?”

“Real food and a warm bed with a fluffy mattress,” Kara replied facetiously.  When Blaze looked at her, she smiled, “I’m accustomed to ration packs and rocks, Sergeant, doesn’t mean that’s what I prefer.”

“Of course, sir,” Blaze murmured.

Kara turned to locate Hook, heading over to check on her other Sergeant as he oversaw the men putting together sleeping spaces.  The beds had come from the enclave, inflatable pads that had been located with some outdoor survival supplies.  Kara knew that some members of the Order favored camping as a relaxing activity, and this enclave had the supplies required to indulge that preference.

She did frown when she noticed one bed being set up a distance from the others, “So, who’s getting exiled from the pack?”  She asked quietly.

“Sir?”  Hook asked, looking at her in surprise.

She pointed at the bed by itself and looked at him pointedly.

“That’s for you,” Hook began slowly.

“It’s cold in this cave,” Kara said calmly, crossing her arms and staring into his eyes.  “It’s one thing to be alone in a climate controlled space, but here?  I refuse to wake up freezing because you’re a prude.”  As the troopers walked away from her proposed bed, Kara gestured, lifting the whole thing in the air and moving it over beside the rest, pointedly sliding it beside the one that Chip was adjusting the pillow on.  Chip turned to look at the bed, then looked over at Kara and shrugged before moving to lay back on his bed.

“General, sir?”

Kara turned to find Fallback approaching with something white in his hand.  “Fallback, can I help you?”

Fallback held out what turned out to be a writing pad, “I heard you mention you needed this, sir.  I carry it to help me figure out complex demolitions.  I can get another one when we get back to the fleet.”

“Thank you Fallback,” Kara said, taking the pad.  “I appreciate this.”  She turned back to Hook, “Other than the bed situation, you’ve done well today, Sergeant.  Make sure you take time to rest tonight, we have no idea what tomorrow will bring.”

“Yes sir,” Hook said with a salute.

Kara moved over to settle down on her bed, tapping the stylus on the pad for a moment before she began to draw.  The soft murmur of the Force rising to her call drowned out the sounds of the men moving around as she began to draw what the Force demanded of her.


	7. Taking Leave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rescue arrives and Kara and the 425th are ready to head home.

Even after moving her bed closer, Kara found that sleep eluded her.  She tried a resting meditation during the first watch, but when it failed and the watch changed, she slid out of bed and took the writing pad over to one of the warming units.

“Everything all right sir?”  Fallback asked as she passed him.

“Sleep issues,” Kara said.  “I’ll be fine.”

“If you’re sure,” Fallback said.

“I’m sure,” Kara replied.  She settled down beside the unit, basking in the warm air for a moment before she began to draw.  The stylus traced out a variety of fallen Jedi, all of them with that sense of a future yet to come.  Then she drifted into drawing statuary and amulets.  One of them she recognized as an icon that she had helped Honso recovered, that had been covered in writing in old Aurebesh.  Finally, she flipped to a fresh page and began to draw a face.  Humanoid, with a Padawan braid and little other hair.  She was put in mind of Master Quinlan Vos, the Kiffar Jedi her master had occasionally called upon to assist in their work.  When she began to shade in a tattoo just under the figure’s eyes, she knew for sure.  This Padawan was a Kiffar.  As she traced out a distinctive scar, shaped like three crescent moons connected with the points facing outwards, she realized that she knew him.  His name was Jaran Val, and they had shared a number of classes since they were younglings.  Whatever would happen, she knew it was important for both of them.

The second watch switched to third, and Kara was aware of Fallback stopping to watch her for a long moment before going to his bed.  She tapped the stylus for a moment before tucking it away and straightening her spine.  She might not be able to sleep, but surely, she could meditate for meditation’s sake.

When she opened her eyes again, it was an hour past dawn and everyone else was up and getting ready.  The landline receiver chirped and Kara worked to get to her feet as she saw Cai throw himself through a group busy folding beds to grab it.  Kara tucked her writing pad away and headed over. 

Just as she reached him, Cai turned and looked at her, “The General’s right here, sir.”  He held out the receiver.

Kara took it with a nod of thanks, “General Saje,” she said.

“General,” Screech said, “three Republic ships just arrived in-system.”

Kara closed her eyes, “You’re sure?”

“It’s the _Resolute, Retrieval,_ and the _Valiant,”_ Screech replied.

Kara nodded, aware that the troopers were beginning to look her way.  “All right, Lieutenant, send the message.  We’ll get the beacon up.  See you soon.”

“See you soon sir,” Screech said.

Kara put down the receiver and turned to Cai, “Mind this receiver, Cai.  Keep me up to date on everything Lieutenant Screech reports.”

“Yes sir,” Cai said with a salute.

Finding Hook and Blaze approaching, she nodded to them.  “Hook, get the beacon active and keep it going until our ride makes landfall.  Blaze, let’s break down the camp.”

“Breakfast?”  Blaze asked.

Kara shook her head, “We’ll eat on the ship.”  She headed for the beds, already reaching out with the Force to begin folding the blankets on her own bed.  She needed something to do to pass the time.

It took nearly the full day before a pair of ships landed outside.  Kara was at the mouth to the tunnel leading to their camp when it touched down and she couldn’t help the smile as she recognized the approaching Force signatures.

“Blaze, are we ready?”  Kara asked, watching as a squad of Stormtroopers rolled out of the first gunship, followed by two Jedi, one wearing dark brown and black and one wearing cream and white.

“We are,” Blaze replied.

Kara stepped out of the tunnel and began to follow the path down.  The tunnel exit was located about teen feet up the side of another canyon.  Some local wildlife had blocked up a natural spring which had led to the floor of the canyon being marshy, and even swamp like in some locations.

As Kara reached the base of the path, the approaching, dark clad person suddenly tripped and fell.  Kara restrained her desire to laugh in favor of a smirk as the person struggled when confronted with the swampy portion of the canyon.

“Oh, it’s him,” she said, glancing sideways at Blaze.

“Who, sir?”  Blaze asked.

“Sergeant Blaze, this glorious specimen of Jedi-hood is the eternally graceful Anakin Skywalker,” Kara said.

“Really Kara,” Master Kenobi said as he helped Anakin out of the swamp.  “You need to learn to let things go.”

Kara stopped and crossed her arms, “I have let it go Master Kenobi.  I forgave Anakin his… incident years ago.”

“Then why,” Kenobi began.

“I didn’t trip him,” Kara protested, “it’s not my fault that Anakin’s about as graceful as a baby nerf on an icy pond.”  She shifted slightly so her shoulder brushed against Blaze’s armor.  “Have Cai signal Screech to prepare for departure.  We’ll be there in fifteen.”

“The relics,” Kenobi said as Blaze saluted and walked away.

“Are with the Lieutenant,” Kara replied.  “Seemed safer to keep them at the hidden landing pad where we always planned to direct any rescue than to have to haul them around underneath that labyrinth.  Especially since the shield went down and we had a lovely running battle yesterday.”

“Yes, about that,” Kenobi said, “how did that happen?”

“New tank,” Kara said, “or it could be an old one.  I didn’t recognize it, but I’m not exactly on the front line for Separatist weapons development.  They took the shield down with a single blast.”

“Not a weapon I’m familiar with,” Kenobi said thoughtfully.

“We abandoned the enclave when we saw it,” Kara said, “sealed the landing pad off to protect the relics.  Lieutenant Screech and his squad are there to watch the secondary monitors and protect the relics.  The shield went down so fast, we ended up leading droids into the labyrinth and dumping the ceiling on them.”

“Effective,” Kenobi said.

“Well, Fallback and Brave are good at blowing things up,” Kara said, “and it kept them from joining in with the others in their attempts to relieve boredom.”  She paused, “Word of advice, don’t let them get bored.”

“What happened?”  Kenobi asked.

“Apparently, the height of entertainment for bored troopers is to set certain parts of their body hair on fire.”  Kara said, “If I never have a medic complaining to me about shaving a man’s groin again.”  She shook her head and glanced over her shoulder, “They should be coming out soon though.”

“Are you telling me that they,” Anakin began.

“Do not finish that sentence,” Kara said, “I have been traumatized enough by male genitals this week.”

Both of the men looked stunned and horrified, so Kara turned and headed up the path to make sure there weren’t any complications.  Sergeant Hook met her halfway down, “Sir.”

“Sergeant?”  Kara asked.

“Beacon’s disassembled, and Bucket Squad is ready to depart,” Hook replied with a salute.

“Check with General Kenobi about which gunship he wants you on,” Kara said, glancing over his shoulder at the two Jedi who were now having a quiet conversation.

“Yes sir,” Hook said and they slid past each other.  Kara headed up to find Blaze waiting at the mouth of the cave.

“Problems?”  Kara asked.

“Nothing unexpected, sir,” Blaze replied.  “The Republic ships are getting pounded, according to Lieutenant Screech.  We’re ready though.”

“Then let’s go,” Kara said.  Hook was standing by one of the transports, but Kenobi and Skywalker were on the path heading up.  “We’re coming,” Kara called, “you didn’t have to come up.”

“Kara,” Anakin said.

Kara narrowed her eyes slightly, “Look, I just want to get off this rock, okay?  It hasn’t exactly been fun for me.  Not to mention that I’ve been wearing the same clothes for a week.  Thankfully the enclave had working laundry facilities.  Besides, how much longer do you think those ships up there can hold out?  What about back up?”

Kenobi gave her a long searching look and Kara pointedly met his eyes.  She wasn’t going to let them keep her people here when the enemy was so close and they didn’t have nearly enough men to stand a chance if they were attacked.

“Sir.”

Kara turned to find Tiny waiting for her, “Yes Tiny?”

He held out a small stack of paper, “I believe you left these.”

Kara took them, almost crushing them when she realized that they were some of her meditative pieces.  “Thank you Tiny.”

“Sir,” Tiny saluted, then moved past them.

Kara smoothed the papers out in preparation for rolling them up, only for one of them to be snatched away in a sudden gust of wind.  She reached for it, only for Kenobi to call the paper to himself instead and frown at it.

“Sixty-six?”  He said.

“No, it’s six, six,” Kara corrected him, holding out her hand.  “That’s Ilandrian numbers, not Basic.”

“What’s the difference?”  Anakin asked, leaning over to look at the paper.

“Ilandrian numbering is, clumsy, when directly converted to basic.  It’s similar when working from one to ten, but after that, instead of saying eleven twelve, thirteen, and so on, it’s essentially stated as 10 and one, ten and two, ten and three.  Then when you have, for instance, sixty-six, it would be six-ten-six.  This is missing the symbol for ten, meaning that it’s six, six.”

“What does it mean?”  Kenobi asked.

“I don’t know yet,” Kara replied, “I was meditating when I wrote that.”  She glared when Kenobi gave her a long-suffering look.  “I do what I do as the _Force_ wills, Master Kenobi.  Whether or not you trust, believe, or accept that is up to you.  I know what I can do, and I know how the Force acts as it applies to me.  I don’t presume to tell you how you feel the Force, or Master Yoda.  I have _never_ understood why I couldn’t have the self-same common courtesy.”

“Sir?”

Kara turned to find Chip waiting behind her.  “Yes Chip?”

“We’re ready.”

Kara turned back, “Let’s go get my Lieutenant so we can get out of here.”

“What about the relic?”  Anakin blurted out.

Kara snorted, “My Lieutenant has the relic, it’s implied Ani.”

They headed down to the gunships, Kara letting the other Jedi walk ahead so that she could let her shoulder bump against Chip’s armor.  He glanced at her nervously, but when Kara gave him a smile, he just nodded a little and looked back at the path.

“So, where’s Captain Zip,” Kara asked as they approached the gunships.

“He’s on the _Retrieval,”_ Kenobi replied.

“Is he okay?”  Kara asked pointedly.

“Hit his head a few times when the _Retrieval_ had to leave.  He’ll be fine but he’s not cleared for the field just yet.”  Kenobi said.

“He’s apparently seeing double,” Anakin offered, “but considering he was seeing triple a week ago, it’s improving.”

“Anakin,” Kenobi said pointedly.  “He was seeing double, but it’s cleared up.  They just want to make sure that he’s not going to have dizzy spells or something before they release him for field duty.”

“Thank you,” Kara said.

They loaded up in the gun ships and Kara smiled a little to see Swoop was her pilot.  “General Saje,” Swoop said.

“Good to see you Swoop.  Have you been tracking the second beacon?”  Kara asked as she perched on the ladder behind his chair.

“It’s been blinking out, but I’ve got a lock on it.”  Swoop said.

“Couldn’t risk the Seps tracking it,” Kara replied, “running ours was risk enough.  They’ll keep it on intervals until we get there.  Jumper’s with them, by the way.”

“Then let’s go get them,” Swoop said.

Kara turned, “Is everyone on board, Sergeant?”

Blaze looked up, “Waiting on the other General, sir.”

Kara huffed a breath and jumped off the ladder to look out the side door.  Kenobi was talking to Anakin, who was standing on the other ship.  After a moment, Kenobi backed up and the door slid shut.  Kenobi turned and jogged over to their ship and jumped on board easily.

“Are we ready now?”  Kara asked.

“We are,” Kenobi said.

Kara turned to look up to Swoop, “Now we can go.”

The doors slid shut and Kara reached up to grab a strap as the ship lifted.  Kenobi moved to stand beside her, but Kara kept her eyes on her men as they settled.  Kenobi made her nervous.  It wasn’t like Master Windu or the rest of the Council.  Her first meeting with Kenobi had been just before his mission to Naboo.  He had helped her with her lightsaber skills and had been nice and approachable.  Then she had gone with Honso to Alderaan, and had been six months on the trail of a particularly vicious set of slavers.  When they got back to the Temple and she’d seen Kenobi, he had changed.  He was still nice, but there was something in him that had twisted.  Hearing about what had happened to Master Jinn, and watching Kenobi struggle with his new Padawan, Kara had been intimidated.  There was something about him after killing the Sith that had shaken her to her core and she had taken advantage of a heavy mission schedule to stay away until she found her balance in regards to him.

Her drawings had been dark and disturbing for nearly two months, furthering her sense of unbalance.  Then something changed between Kenobi and Anakin, something that had lead up to her introduction to the bottom of the deepest fountain in the Room of a Thousand Fountains.  She’d spent the better part of a year working on her response to _that_ experience, leaving the ten-year-old Anakin swearing an oath that he would never try to prank her like that again.

They landed inside the hidden hanger and Kara leapt off to get her eyes on her people.  Lieutenant Screech was already overseeing the removal of the relics, while Jumper slipped past her with a slight nod.  She could feel his relief and then gentle joy as he climbed up beside Swoop.  Kara smiled, even as her eyes counted heads and settled on the Lieutenant.

“Lieutenant, how are we doing?”  Kara asked.

“We’ll be loaded up in five,” Screech replied turning to give her a quick salute.

Kara pressed her hand onto his arm, knowing he wouldn’t actually feel it, but needing the gesture.  “You did good, Lieutenant.”

Then she turned, finding Kenobi standing nearby.  She raised her eyebrow in challenge, but he only half smiled and shook his head.

“Let’s get out of here,” Kara decided, watching as the last of Home Squad entered Anakin’s gunship.  She entered her ship again, counting heads a second time.  “Alright Swoop, Jumper, let’s go.”  She reached up and hooked a hand over the nearest loop as the ship lurched.


	8. Back On Board

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back on the Retrieval, Kara meets with Kenobi and joins Bucket Squadron with saluting their victorious dead.

Kara had made it halfway across the Retrieval when she remembered her drawings.  She turned and headed back to get them from the gunship, ducking her head slightly as she jogged.  The thing Kara wanted most was to get changed out of the armor.  It was comfortable for a day or so and then it just got a little heavier and more tiring every day.  She’d have to come up with some way to build up her shoulders if she was going to keep wearing it.

Kara swung around to the open side of the gunship and skidded to a stop.  Jumper had Swoop pinned back to the ladder to the cockpit, one hand resting on his chest.  Kara couldn’t quite see Jumper’s face, but Swoop was staring at him with a soft, open look that made Kara feel like she was intruding.  She backed up a few steps, then turned and walked away.

“Everything alright sir?”  One of the nearby troopers asked.

Kara smiled at him, “I thought I left something on the gunship, but then I remembered I didn’t.  Thank you for asking.”

“You’re welcome sir,” the trooper said.

Kara headed back across the bay and through the doors to find Master Kenobi waiting for her.  “Master,” Kara said.  “Did you need something?”

“I would like to speak with you, yes,” Master Kenobi said.

Kara hesitated a moment, “I’m sure you need to get back to the _Resolute_ , so if you’ll come with me, there is a space we can speak privately.”

“Thank you,” Master Kenobi replied.

Kara led Kenobi to ‘her’ conference room, silently mourning her plans to change into her Jedi robes and spend time communing with a cup of hot tea.  She had the feeling that whatever Kenobi wanted to speak to her about, it probably would upset her enough that tea wouldn’t be enough.

Kenobi glanced around the room as Kara took her seat, “A conference room,” he said.

“The _Retrieval_ isn’t large enough for me to have an office,” Kara replied, “but there are four conference rooms.  This one is big enough for a whole squad to fill, and it’s not that far from my quarters.  Captain Sei’lar offered me it’s exclusive use, of course I took it.  This way, my people know where to find me when I’m not on the bridge with Sei’lar.”

“I see,” Kenobi said.  He settled into one of the chairs and looked at her for a long moment, the kind of penetrating gaze that Kara had experienced from many Jedi Masters over the years.  It was a private joke with her friends that that particular look was conveyed upon Masters at the time of their ascension to that rank.

“Would you like a cup of tea?”  Kara asked.

“No, thank you,” Kenobi said.  He rested his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together, “Kara, I was appointed to the Council about a week ago with my ascension to Jedi Master.”

“Congratulations, Master Kenobi,” Kara said.

“Thank you,” Kenobi said, “Part of the reason Anakin and I received this mission was because the Council has a request to make of you.”

“I am always willing to serve the Council, Master,” Kara murmured.  She folded her hands in her lap and focused her eyes on Kenobi’s nose, forcing her features into a neutral expression.

“The Council wishes for you to take a Padawan,” Kenobi said, “with the…”

“Bring a child into a warzone?”  Kara snapped, forgetting her manners as her temper rose.  “I understand allowing _Senior_ Padawans, who are above the age of majority for their species, and with experience in life outside the Temple being on the front, but a child?  Has the Council lost their collective minds?”

“ _Knight Saje,”_ Kenobi said pointedly, and Kara froze, staring at him.  “I realize that you have been under a great deal of stress lately, but this is a very important matter.  The number of Knights and Masters who have died in this war is increasing daily.  It’s part of why the 425 th is such a promising asset.  In light of that, all Jedi who do not currently have a Padawan are being asked to take one on, and given that this is a war, we are revising some old traditions from the last time the Jedi went to war.  Padawans under the age of fifteen, or their species equivalent, are not allowed on battlefields, but may accompany their Masters on command ships or diplomatic missions.  After the age of fifteen, they will be granted the Army recognized rank of Commander and permitted limited command permissions.  Upon attaining Senior status, the restrictions on command are changed to allow them to command a company within their Master’s battalion, or the equivalent.  Some Padawan, yes like Anakin, have for one reason or another assumed command of troops and are being allowed to maintain those commands as long as they also have the status of Senior Padawan.  Given that you, yourself, are not a front-line commander, it would be at your discretion what role your Padawan would play on your missions.”

Kara clenched her hands hard as she tried to calm down.  She couldn’t believe this.  She knew that there were Padawans on the frontlines, as she had been, but that didn’t mean she approved of it.  It also didn’t mean that she would be party to the idiocy of putting children in charge of soldiers. 

“I’m not bringing a child to a battle field or a warzone, Master Kenobi, Jedi Padawan or not.”

Kenobi looked at her sadly for a long moment.  “I understand that you feel that way, Knight Saje, however, you are ordered to escort the relics you retrieved to Coruscant immediately.  I’m sure you can understand that it is vital to see them securely stored away.  If you will excuse me, I do need to return to the _Resolute_ so that we may return to our own mission.”

Kara stood, “I’ll have Swoop prep a shuttle for you, Master Kenobi.  May the Force be with you.”

“And also with you,” Kenobi replied as he stood.

Kara bowed as Kenobi left, then commed a quick request to Jumper to see to Kenobi’s transportation requirements.  That having been seen to, Kara headed to her room to change.  As she entered the hallway, however, she spotted Sergeant Hook walking with Bren from Bucket Squadron.

“Sergeant,” Kara said when they spotted her, “I want to see Bucket Squadron in this conference room in an hour.  They don’t need their armor, just their presence.”

“Yes sir,” Hook said with a salute.

That done, Kara went down to her room and could feel herself relaxing once the door was shut.  She changed, taking time for a sonic shower, then settled onto her bunk with a cup of tea.  For a long moment, it was easy to stare at the steam rising from the cup, watching as it twisted itself into a variety of different forms, some of them oddly familiar, and others she recognized only because they resembled items she saw regularly.

When her chrono chimed the time, Kara finished her tea, collected a certain box and went to join her men for a salute to their victorious dead.

The squad gathered nervously, but Kara gave them a confident smile as she set up.  It was easy to give them the speech about her people and their ways of honoring the fallen in battle.  It was easy to convince them to trust her to take that first shot, but the second glass was a lot harder on them.  Still, Kara loved their variety of expressions when confronted with the drink’s true potential.  It was hard to get them to take the second drink, but after a long moment, Crash bit the bullet and swallowed it down.  As before, it was the Trooper who convinced the others to do it, but Kara figured that it was a small miracle that they trusted her in the first place.

“Now, the tradition is to share stories about our fallen, to remember how they lived,” Kara said as she began to clean the glasses.  “As soon as I finish this, I’ll leave you to decide if you wish, but I’d like to ask a question.”

“Yes General?”  Hook asked.

“Is there a story behind Yanno’s name?  May I hear that story?”  Kara replied.

“Sure,” Crash said, “Yanno was our batch mate,” He reached over to slap Bang on the shoulder.  “It’s not some crazy story or anything, though.”

“It’s doesn’t have to be,” Kara reassured him.

“Well,” Bang said, “Yanno was always big on two things, learning facts and spreading gossip.  He used to begin most conversations with ‘you know what?’ or ‘did you know that…’ and tell you something worthless to know, but which he was always so excited about.”

“He’d slur his words together more, the more excited he’d get,” Crash said.  “So eventually, we just started calling him Yanno, and it stuck.”

“Took him a while to realize it,” Bang mused, “but he was so happy when it did.  He’d been looking through all that stuff to see if there was something he liked but nothing had ever stood out for him.”

Kara smiled as she put away the last of the glasses, “Thank you for telling me that story.”  She began to stand up.

“Chip said you stayed,” Bren blurted out.

“I’m sorry?”  Kara asked.

“For Shy,” Bren said, blushing.  “Chip said you stayed for the stories, sir.”

“I was invited,” Kara replied, “but if all of you don’t want me here, I’m happy to give you some space.”

“No, stay,” Hook said, with the rest of the squad quick to agree with him.

“Besides, you should hear about Yanno and Milo and the baby,” one of the other troopers said.  From the circuit patter tattooed on his scalp, Kara knew that he was Slice, their code slicer and surprising expert on certain types of vibroblade fighting.

Milo, with the black stars that trailed from the corner of his right eye down to his collarbone ducked his head as his ears turned red.  He was a sharpshooter for his squad, and one of their rifle users.

“All right,” Kara said, resettling in her chair, “tell me about Yanno, Milo, and the baby.”  She needed to finish writing a report on their mission, and check in with Sei’lar about the _Retrieval,_ not to mention that she should secure a datapad for her own use, but this, connecting with her people, was always more important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize, but I'm having a bit of a real life issue, so the next story might take a while to come out. HOWEVER, I am also working on a side story that could be considered on-going, and which welcomes prompts. We know how some of our people came to be named, but what about the rest? Feel free to ask questions about any of my Troopers names, I'll be happy to share. (Several of them already have stories, I just haven't been able to share. Since I do not intend to end EVERY story with a wake/memorial scene, I figure it would be fair to write some of their stories.)


End file.
